(MENAFN) New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani vowed early Wednesday to fulfill his promise of making the nation’s largest city more affordable, positioning his administration as a model for Democrats nationwide in the effort to challenge President Donald Trump.

Mamdani wished his main rival, independent former Governor Andrew Cuomo, well as he returns to private life, but stated, "let tonight be the final time I utter his name as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many, and answers only to the few."

The incoming mayor, set to become New York’s first Muslim leader, focused little on his opponent and instead rallied supporters around his progressive agenda as he prepares to move into Gracie Mansion in January amid Trump’s dominant political presence.

"We will usher in a generation of change, and if we embrace this brave new course, rather than fleeing from it, we can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him," Mamdani said to enthusiastic supporters at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn.

He added, "If there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump, it's how we stop the next one. So Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: 'Turn the volume up,'" prompting cheers from the crowd.

With 91% of the vote counted, Mamdani holds over 50% in the three-way race, according to reports.

Trump had attempted to influence the election for months, endorsing Cuomo and previously urging Republican Curtis Sliwa to withdraw in hopes of boosting Cuomo’s chances. He also threatened to cut federal funding for New York City if Mamdani, whom he labels a "communist," won the contest.

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